News / Regional
Another resignation hits MDC
11 Sep 2015 at 17:57hrs | Views
Lionel De Necker MDC national executive member has resigned from the Welshman Ncube led party.
De Necker sent his resignation to party president via WhatsApp this morning. The letter sent to Ncube and leaked to these media is as below. No comment has yet been received from the party.
11 September 2015
The President
The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
11 Creswick Ave.
Harare
ZIMBABWE
Dear Sir,
Re: Resignation from office and party
I wish to inform you sir, of my decision to step down from my position as portfolio secretary for Local Government in the National Executive Committee (NEC). Please also accept this letter as termination of my MDC party membership with immediate effect.
It is with great sadness that I make this decision concerning my participation in the political affairs of the MDC, a party to which I have belonged, served with conviction and one which I hoped could fulfil the great expectations of Zimbabweans here at home and outside the borders. I have been an integral part of my local community all my life and thus have decided to invest my energy and time into community initiatives which seek to build peace, promote health and poverty alleviation.
As I bid farewell I wish to express my disappointment at the way the party has slid backwards from a symbol of hope to a desperate state and yet continues, at least at leadership level, to pretend that all is well. While many comrades remain in the party murmuring tunes of discontent in the shadows and precluded by respect and fear from telling you the truth. I feel that it would be a great disservice to you and the party if I do not highlight the cancer which is eating away at the movement from inside and threatening to engulf it absolutely.
- Mr. President, the party has functioned for a long without functional and resourced structures.
- The National Executive Committee does not meet regularly and as such national leaders are not being formally consulted in areas of critical decisions, meeting only when it is needed to endorse already completed processes such as CODE and Reunification. The same applies to the National Council.
- The National Standing Committee has become the super ordinate organ of the party making all key decisions without resort to the National Council. This Mr. President has continued even as the NSC has itself faced many forced changes due to departures.
- The party has lost, through resignation, many members of the national leadership yet the response has been to act out a picture that all is well when a crisis is evident.There has been no attempt to honestly deal with the causes of the bleeding which has weakened the party institutionally.
- The party has not been able to reach out to the grassroots ever since the mauling it received in the elections of July 2013 serve for the informal conversations amongst a few provincial members and some national leaders on social media effectively rendering the party a WhatsApp movement divorced from the reality of our people.
- The party, especially at leadership level, seems to be in denial that it is on a speedy lane to nowhere and appears bent on this make believe behaviour where we say loads but do nothing in equal measure. Yet we know that numbers do not lie. Surely turning over a 2% margin to one which will win state power cannot be achieved through the lethargy that has consumed the party since July 2013.
- It is clear that the party can only make a meaningful contribution to change in Zimbabwe if it approaches conversations with other political parties with an open mind and honesty. I believe that our arrogance and 'we are better than the rest' mentality will only achieve the same negative results as we have seen before, all to the detriment of our people. This is a painful and sad reality which must be honestly interrogated and for which bitter medicine must be ingested.
I am aware that those who give you the impression that they support you with undying loyalty and love will speedily rubbish me as has become the norm. They will urge you to forget this minor episode and keep moving to victory which even they doubt will ever come through this party and under your leadership.
I urge you to take time and do deep and honest introspection, dissect the party and honestly measure its effectiveness and make a critical decision. In doing this reflect on the current composition of the party leadership and compare it to the leadership that emerged from the congress of 2011. I am sure you will realise that the faces have changed like a group playing the game of musical chairs' possibly changing guards faster than any party wishing to create cohesion and achieve growth. Please do not wave this away with the now customary MDC head in the sad ostrich approach to a ragging inferno.
It would be unfortunate if your legacy diminished further and the fortunes of the party receded even more than they have under your leadership despite all your spirited efforts to keep it afloat.
I urge you Mr. President to seriously consider stepping down from the helm of the party not only for the sake of your legacy but to afford the party an opportunity to re-energise and make radical and strategic choices for its survival. Please do not allow yourself for ego or any other driver to be the albatross around the neck of the MDC.
I hope, like me, you will take a serious look at the circumstances surrounding the MDC today and make a call of leadership.
Yours Sincerely
Lionel De Necker
De Necker sent his resignation to party president via WhatsApp this morning. The letter sent to Ncube and leaked to these media is as below. No comment has yet been received from the party.
11 September 2015
The President
The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
11 Creswick Ave.
Harare
ZIMBABWE
Dear Sir,
Re: Resignation from office and party
I wish to inform you sir, of my decision to step down from my position as portfolio secretary for Local Government in the National Executive Committee (NEC). Please also accept this letter as termination of my MDC party membership with immediate effect.
It is with great sadness that I make this decision concerning my participation in the political affairs of the MDC, a party to which I have belonged, served with conviction and one which I hoped could fulfil the great expectations of Zimbabweans here at home and outside the borders. I have been an integral part of my local community all my life and thus have decided to invest my energy and time into community initiatives which seek to build peace, promote health and poverty alleviation.
As I bid farewell I wish to express my disappointment at the way the party has slid backwards from a symbol of hope to a desperate state and yet continues, at least at leadership level, to pretend that all is well. While many comrades remain in the party murmuring tunes of discontent in the shadows and precluded by respect and fear from telling you the truth. I feel that it would be a great disservice to you and the party if I do not highlight the cancer which is eating away at the movement from inside and threatening to engulf it absolutely.
- Mr. President, the party has functioned for a long without functional and resourced structures.
- The National Executive Committee does not meet regularly and as such national leaders are not being formally consulted in areas of critical decisions, meeting only when it is needed to endorse already completed processes such as CODE and Reunification. The same applies to the National Council.
- The National Standing Committee has become the super ordinate organ of the party making all key decisions without resort to the National Council. This Mr. President has continued even as the NSC has itself faced many forced changes due to departures.
- The party has lost, through resignation, many members of the national leadership yet the response has been to act out a picture that all is well when a crisis is evident.There has been no attempt to honestly deal with the causes of the bleeding which has weakened the party institutionally.
- The party has not been able to reach out to the grassroots ever since the mauling it received in the elections of July 2013 serve for the informal conversations amongst a few provincial members and some national leaders on social media effectively rendering the party a WhatsApp movement divorced from the reality of our people.
- The party, especially at leadership level, seems to be in denial that it is on a speedy lane to nowhere and appears bent on this make believe behaviour where we say loads but do nothing in equal measure. Yet we know that numbers do not lie. Surely turning over a 2% margin to one which will win state power cannot be achieved through the lethargy that has consumed the party since July 2013.
- It is clear that the party can only make a meaningful contribution to change in Zimbabwe if it approaches conversations with other political parties with an open mind and honesty. I believe that our arrogance and 'we are better than the rest' mentality will only achieve the same negative results as we have seen before, all to the detriment of our people. This is a painful and sad reality which must be honestly interrogated and for which bitter medicine must be ingested.
I am aware that those who give you the impression that they support you with undying loyalty and love will speedily rubbish me as has become the norm. They will urge you to forget this minor episode and keep moving to victory which even they doubt will ever come through this party and under your leadership.
I urge you to take time and do deep and honest introspection, dissect the party and honestly measure its effectiveness and make a critical decision. In doing this reflect on the current composition of the party leadership and compare it to the leadership that emerged from the congress of 2011. I am sure you will realise that the faces have changed like a group playing the game of musical chairs' possibly changing guards faster than any party wishing to create cohesion and achieve growth. Please do not wave this away with the now customary MDC head in the sad ostrich approach to a ragging inferno.
It would be unfortunate if your legacy diminished further and the fortunes of the party receded even more than they have under your leadership despite all your spirited efforts to keep it afloat.
I urge you Mr. President to seriously consider stepping down from the helm of the party not only for the sake of your legacy but to afford the party an opportunity to re-energise and make radical and strategic choices for its survival. Please do not allow yourself for ego or any other driver to be the albatross around the neck of the MDC.
I hope, like me, you will take a serious look at the circumstances surrounding the MDC today and make a call of leadership.
Yours Sincerely
Lionel De Necker
Source - Byo24News
